Marijuana and campaign finance bills, and a new woman CEO for GM make political headlines

This Week in Michigan Politics, Jack Lessenberry and Christina Shockley discuss marijuana and campaign finance bills and the appointment of the first female CEO of General Motors.

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Week in Michigan Politics interview

Medical marijuana bills move forward

A state House panel unanimously approved two medical marijuana bills yesterday.

One would allow medical marijuana dispensaries to operate in the state again, the other would let patients use edible forms of marijuana.

These aren't the only medical marijuana bills floating around in Lansing right now.

Lessenberry says there are so many proposed changes to medical marijuana laws because some predict that the federal government might end the prohibition on marijuana or medical marijuana, and lawmakers want to make sure it’s as controlled as possible before that happens.

Campaign finance bills close to a vote

State House Speaker Jase Bolger says the House is close to a vote on legislation that would double the amount of money people can give to political campaigns.

The bill would also block a proposal that would require groups who pay for so-called “issue ads” to disclose their donors.

Critics of the legislation say it would only benefit large campaign spenders, and that it threatens transparency.

First woman named CEO of General Motors

Mary Barra will be the new CEO of General Motors, the first female to take the post.

Barra has worked for GM since she was an intern while attending engineering school.

Lessenberry says while this is a case of breaking the glass ceiling in the auto industry, he wonders if having a CEO that has worked for GM her whole life will help the company or not.

“The big mantra of a few years is GM needs to change how they do things,” Lessenberry says. “The former CEO and others say she is a change instrument and in the past we’ve seen GM run into trouble because lifers found it hard to fire or ask their friends to do things they didn’t want to do.”